by Helen Garner
First published 2024
Dexter and Athena Fox have created a comfortable life in suburban Melbourne with their two young sons. The early 1980s find them navigating the ordinary struggles of marriage and parenthood, mostly content within their domestic routine. Their settled world shifts when someone from Dexter's past reappears, bringing exposure to Melbourne's bohemian scene where convention matters less than passion and spontaneity. Athena finds herself drawn to possibilities she hadn't considered before. The underground culture offers freedom from the predictable rhythms of family life, but pursuing it means risking everything the Foxes have built together. As Athena weighs her choices, the family's stability begins to crack. The novel examines what happens when the security of commitment collides with the pull of unexplored desires, set against the backdrop of a changing Australia where traditional structures were being questioned.
Genres: literary-fiction, domestic-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unconventional-lifestyle
Setting: Melbourne, Australia
Period: 1980s
176 pages · Paperback · Vintage